Hold On
by soletssee
Summary: Ezra decides to move to New York in hopes that some of the tension between him and Aria's family will die down. After nearly 3 months of being away from Aria though, he plans a surprise visit to Rosewood.
1. Chapter 1

**I've never shared any of my stories before, but i had an idea for an Ezria story and thought, "why not?"... so here goes nothing!**

***(unfortunatly) I do not own PLL**

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The train had finally reached its last stop, and my destination, in the tiny, rusty train station positioned just outside of Rosewood. I looked out the window and my stomach flip-flopped as I imagined seeing Aria for the first time in nearly 2 ½ months. We talked on the phone occasionally, texted and dedicated every Wednesday night to video-chat while her dad taught a late-night class at Hollis College. Byron was still just as insistent that I have absolutely no contact with his daughter, and there were no signs of him coming around any time soon. Ella on the other hand had managed to semi-accept our relationship and turned a blind-eye to most communication between her daughter and me, although, I'm not so sure that my surprise arrival back in Rosewood would be warmly welcomed by her.

Despite Aria's and my efforts to keep connected while I was back home in New York teaching, nothing could soothe the ache that came from not being able to see her, or kiss her, or comfort her from her chaotic life. I would have done anything to have been able to stay in Rosewood with her, holed up in my tiny apartment with Chinese take-out and an infinite amount of time to hold her in my arms and protect her from reality. But, in a town that denied me of every teaching position available (thanks to an increasingly tense situation between myself and Byron), Aria and I thought it best that I leave for a while. And if distance was what it took for Aria and I to possibly have a chance at some sort of normalcy, then distance it was. However cliché it sounded, I loved her more than I knew I could love someone, and was willing to endure whatever I had to. She was worth the risk and she is worth the wait.

I made my way to the back of the train where the luggage was stored and grabbed my suitcase from the top shelf. I positioned my briefcase over my shoulder and readied my umbrella for the pouring rain that awaited me outside. When the doors finally opened, I made my way to the east parking lot, where Spencer was waiting for me. She and the other girls helped plan my surprise visit, assuring me that Aria had no clue of our scheming and plotting. With the identity of "A" no longer a mystery, and the turmoil it caused within the tiny town, I doubted she even had time to notice her friends unusual behavior. Spencer was parked near the middle of the parking lot in her mom's silver SUV. The windows were tinted almost black, which eliminated my fear of being seen by anyone who might have resented my presence in Rosewood. I tugged on the handle to open the door expecting to be greeted by spencer. Instead, I was greeted by spencer, in the driver's seat, and Hanna and Emily, smiling like fools in the backseat.

"Ladies" I greeted them as I pulled my suitcase and briefcase into the car and settled myself into the seat.

"Mr. Fitz!" the three of them screamed in unison.

"Oh my gosh Mr. Fitz, this is so Romeo and Juliet!" Hanna squealed, "Forbidden love overcoming all obstacles..."

"Hanna, could you have thought of a more cliché analogy?" Emily said with a sarcastic tone. Hanna rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you guys know I mean. It's so romantic!" Hannah said wistfully. Spencer chimed in to update me on the latest plan for operation: surprise Aria.

"So once we get to Rosewood, I'm going to text Aria with an SOS." Spencer said, "I'll tell her that Hanna is in need of some girl talk because Caleb's been acting weird." spencer talked with such enthusiasm, like deceiving people was her purpose in life. "Once she gets to my house, you'll answer the door surprising the hell out of her!" The girls giggled with the excitement of pulling off such a scheme.

"I can't wait to see the look on her face!" Hanna squealed, "She's has no idea!"

"So, Mr. Fitz-"Emily started before I interrupted her

"Ezra, you guys can call me Ezra."

"Okay – Ezra –"Emily continued "have you thought about what you're going to do when you finally see Aria?"

"Em! You can't ask questions like that! He doesn't want to tell you _those_ kinds of details!" spencer shrieked, "Although I'm sure it would be juicy." she said under her breath, almost inaudibly. I blushed a little, imagining for a split-second what I would do to my beautiful Aria once we finally had some alone time.

"That's not what I meant! I was talking about when you first see her. What you're going to say? Or how you think she'll react?" Emily asked

Suddenly, I became uncomfortable realizing that I hadn't thought about any of that. I must have been trying to avoid those thoughts in the off chance that Aria wasn't excited to see me. Spencer must have sensed my unrest because she stepped in,

"Come on, let's give the guy a chance to breathe" she said and turned the radio up.

We finally arrived at the Hastings' house and spencer had sent Aria the SOS text exactly 7 minutes ago (not that I was counting). We all waited, watching the clock, exchanging nervous/ excited glances with each other. I stood at the door adjusting my tie and straightening my jacket, hoping to look perfect for Aria. Hanna suddenly ran to the window and peeped through the dark blue and black curtains that hung, hiding what little light came from outside.

"You guy's, she's here! She just got out of her car!" Hanna announced. She sounded almost as excited as me. I felt comforted knowing that Aria was in the hands of such caring friends while I was away.

The room went silent while we listened for Aria's footsteps as she made her way up the driveway. There was a faint knock on the door.

"Spencer, let me in! It's pouring out here, I'm drenched!" Aria pleaded.

"Coming!" spencer said, motioning for me to hurry up and let her in. I drew in one last breath, a feeble attempt to calm my nerves, and then twisted the doorknob open.

Nothing could have prepared me for the overwhelming amount of emotion that came over me with that first look at Aria. My eyes instantly filled with tears as I took in the sight of her in dark blue skinny jeans, yellow rain boots and a black long-sleeved shirt adorned with fringe and studs. Her hair was slightly wet from the rain and her eye make-up was starting to drip down her cheeks. She was the most unbelievably beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on, runny make-up and all.

"Ezra?" the word barely escaped her lips and she launched herself into my arms. I took her in matching the strength of her embrace, holding her so close there was almost no distinction between her body and mine. We just held each other in the doorway, unaware of anything that was going on in the world around us. When we finally pulled away from the embrace, I held her face in my hands staring into her hazelnut eyes.

"I love you Aria Montgomery" I whispered as I brought her face to mine. Her lips were hot on mine; Sweet and soft. I wiped the tears from her eyes with my thumbs as we continued passionately exploring the comfort of each other's embrace, tangling our tongues together, afraid to let go of one another.

"Ezra?" Aria said again, with a little more strength in her voice than the time before. She looked up at me and smiled slightly, clearly still confused by what was happening. "What are you doing here?"

"Surprise!" I whispered. "I know this seems – crazy – but, Aria, I missed you way too much. I had to see you, and I knew that if I told you I was coming to visit, you would worry about your dad finding out and tell me not to come."

"So you planned this behind my back?" she asked.

"Well, yes." I said.

"And you guys were all in on this?" she asked Spencer, Hanna and Emily. They nodded their heads yes, also afraid that Aria might not be as excited as we had all expected.

"Are you mad?" I asked.

"No, not at all!" she exclaimed," I just can't believe you guys pulled this off without my knowing!"

"Well it wasn't easy!" Spencer told her, "You have this weird need to know what everyone is up to at all times."

"Yeah, and it's really hard to lie to you!" Emily said. Aria ran up to the girls and pulled each one of them in for a group-hug, thanking them for such a surprise.

"Now go be with your man!" Hanna said pushing Aria back in my direction. She ran to my side, and grabbed my hand, making my heart skip a beat.

"Shall we go?" I asked, looking into her big hazel eyes. She kissed me quickly then turned towards the door.

"Lead the way" she said.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, did you miss me?" I asked Aria as we settled into Aria's car and put our seatbelts on.

"Are you kidding me? All I did was miss you!" she said giving me a quick peck on the lips before pulling out of the Hastings' driveway. About a mile down the road, I noticed that she was instinctively driving in the direction of my old apartment building, despite the fact that I had given her directions to Hardy, my old college roommate's place. I could visibly see her body tense as the old, worn-down building came into view. My apartment—our apartment, really – was the only thing in our relationship that resembled something that a normal couple would have, and seeing it again brought back all the memories we'd shared in the tiny space. When I moved back to New York, we had to give up the apartment, along with the feelings of safety and comfort it provided. Aria pulled off to the side of the road, and put her car in park. She stared straight ahead, into the pouring rain outside, gripping the steering wheel for a good 30 seconds before she spoke.

"Ezra, what are we doing?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper. Obviously, she was shaken by the sudden reminder of our past.

"What do you mean, 'what are we doing', Aria?" I asked, fearful of what she might say next. I was expecting that we'd have this conversation eventually, but not within the first 10 minutes of our reunion.

"I mean what are we going to do, Ezra? Hide out in Hardy's apartment until I'm out of high school?" she finally turned to face me, "Look, I know that our relationship is…complicated…but, I don't want to hide anymore. Wasn't the whole reason we told my parents about us so that we could start living our lives as a couple and _stop_ hiding?" tears ran down Aria's cheeks. She wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve then let out a sigh, "Ezra, it's obvious that we can't _not_ be together, but it seems like every time we take one step forward in our relationship, the universe forces us to take two steps back".

It took me a few seconds to find my words, "I know, Aria, I'm sorry. I wish I had a solution for this problem – for all of our problems – I really do! I wish I could take all the pain that this situation has caused you away, and make things better for us, but I can't." Aria's tears fell faster and harder as I spoke, "The truth is Aria, I'm just as frustrated at the universe for throwing us all of these curveballs; but at the same time, how can I be angry at the universe when it also gave me you? All I can do is have faith that things will work themselves out in the end, and if that means that we have to spend the next 2 years hiding out in Hardy's apartment, living off ramen noodles and watching made-for-TV movies 24/7, then that's what we'll do". I lifted my thumb to her cheek to wipe away a few stray tears, and kissed her lightly on the tip of her nose.

"But what about my parents?" she sniffled, "When they find out you're here, they'll flip! You know my dad, he'll probably put me on house arrest, ankle bracelet and all!"

"we'll deal with that when we get there… but tonight, they are under the impression that you're spending the night at spencer's, and that I am hundreds of miles away in New York, so let's take advantage of _that_ while we can". That was enough to get Aria smiling again. She put her car in gear and merged back into traffic.

Ten minutes later,Arrking spot marked 3b at Hardy's apartment complex, and chuckled, "He lives in apartment 3b? Well, isn't that ironic?" she chuckled. I stepped out into the rain once again, and walked around the car to open aria's door and offer her an umbrella. I grabbed my suitcase from the backseat, and lead Aria to hardy's apartment.

Hardy greeted us at the door with a big smile and hugs. "Come on in guys, make yourselves comfortable!" He insisted, waving his arms around the space suggesting that we make ourselves at home. "this, " he said pointing to the living room floor, mocking all the grandeur of a 5 star hotel "will be your guys' living quarters for as long as you wish to stay at _La Chateau de Hardy_". I stifled a laugh and grabbed Aria's hand to lead her to the couch, setting my suitcase down by the door. Hardy sat down on the game-chair across from Aria and I and took a deep breath, "Look, I know I haven't always been supportive of your relationship," Hardy confessed, looking Aria in the eye, "but I want you to know that I've made a complete 180! Ezra and I go way, way back, and I've never seen him as happy as he has been in this past year with you Aria."

Aria smiled, "thank you, Hardy. That means a lot to us!"

I put my arm around Aria's shoulder and pulled her into my side, "And thanks again Hardy for letting us crash here. We don't have many options at this point".

"No problem, dude! Just try to keep it down at night; the walls in this apartment are paper-thin, and I don't really feel like re-living our college days, as fun as they were!" Hardy winked at me and Aria's face turned bright red. "And, on that note I'll be leaving" Hardy said getting up from his chair and heading towards the door "It's my cousin's engagement party tonight, so I'll be out pretty late. Don't wait up you two!" he said winking at us again as he grabbed his car keys and walked out the door.

"So, Mr. Fitz…" Aria joked, climbing into my lap as soon as we heard Hardy's truck drive away, "tell me about these college days of yours"

"Hmmm…" I said feigning confusion, "I can't seem to recall anything that happened in my life before the day I met you, Aria Montgomery"

"Nice safe Fitz!" Aria said kissing me quickly on the lips. I pulled her back to me embracing her in a much more passionate kiss than we had been able to share in the last 2 ½ months.

"I missed you _so_ much, Aria." I breathed into her neck, leaving a trail of kisses from one side of her collar bone to the next, "I _need_ you, Aria " I whispered in her ear nibbling on her earlobe, "I just can't _survive_ without you".

"Mmm…", was all she could manage before deepening the kiss, running her fingers through my hair and pulling her body closer to mine. I flipped Aria onto her back and lowered myself back down to her level, making contact with her soft, sweet lips once again. The feeling was unbearable, and judging by the way Aria was grinding her hips into mine, the feeling was also mutual. Aria pulled away with a concerned look on her face

"Ezra…"she said slightly out of breath, "don't leave me again" she breathed.

"Never" I responded, pulling her back into me, removing every inch of space that separated her body from mine.


End file.
